


Nursing an Empty Bottle

by tinyroboboy



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anger, Crying, Gen, Major Illness, Sad, light blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-09-07 11:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20308549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyroboboy/pseuds/tinyroboboy
Summary: ~THIS IS CURRENTLY ON HOLD~Tom finally shows some proper emotions after learning about an illness.





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey, guys!” Matt beamed as he walked through the front door. His hair looked glossy and his skin was glowing. No one acknowledged him aside from a muffled grunt from Edd. He was laying on the couch watching television. He was surrounded by empty cola cans and crisp bags. Ringo was stretched across his chest, ever so slightly restricting his breaths.

Matt made his way over to his friend and leaned over the back of the couch. “Hello, Edd!” he said while blinking his eyes intentionally. Edd did not respond. Matt’s voice was drowned out by mindless, explosive noises coming from the television set.

Matt walked between Edd and the TV. “Hello!” he shouted, waving his hand in front of Edd’s glazed look.

“Out of the way, dummy!” Edd whined while waving his hand at Matt. Ringo got startled and jumped off his chest earning a frustrated groan from Edd. “Aww, look what you’ve done,” he whined, “What do you want?”

Matt put his hands beneath his chin. “Do I look pretty, Edward?” he asked.

Edd looked at him through squinted eyes. He breathed in to speak angrily but instead let out a faint chuckle. “You look great, buddy,” he said, patting Matt’s leg gently while he smiled, “And don’t call me Edward.”

Matt, being satisfied with his ego boost, made his way up to his bedroom. He walked past Tom’s room and decided to stop by. “Knock, knock,” he said while tapping on the door that was cracked open. “Hello, mate!” he said upon entering.

Tom was sitting on his rug tuning his bass. “I didn’t say ‘come in’ you nitwit,” he said without even turning his head.

Matt ignored Tom and joined him on the rug, seated uncomfortably close.

Tom sniffed and shrugged the shoulder adjacent to Matt. “Matt, I need space,” he stated flatly, still not looking in his direction. He leaned over and strained to grab a roll of tape across the floor. Matt complied and stood to his feet. He wandered over to Tom’s other belongings and began to look through them.

“Stay out of my stuff, Matt,” Tom said with no enthusiasm. He knew Matt was an unstoppable force of sorts so he’d be wasting his breath trying to control him. He kept his head down and focused on his repairs while Matt casually dumped out boxes. He had little, if any, regard for cleanliness no matter whose belongings they were.

“Hey, what’s this?” Matt asked while pulling out some books that looked homemade. He opened the pages and saw many pictures of Tom in various stages of childhood. “Is this you?” he asked, his eyes sparkling at the sight.

“Wh-what?” Tom choked, scrambling to his feet. His eyes went wide, “Hey! Stay out of those!” he squeaked.

Matt held the book above his shorter friend’s head just out of his reach. “What are all of these? I never knew you took photos as a kid!” he laughed. “You look terrible! I don’t remember you looking like this!” Matt could hardly speak as he looked through the aged pages. 

“Shut up, Matt! Give those back!”

The more Tom begged, the higher Matt held the book.

“Oh my God, I’ve seen ugly babies but this is next level!” Matt wheezed.

Tom’s cheeks burned. He couldn’t believe he was hoping to try and grab his baby book from someone who claimed to be his friend. “Matt I am serious! Give me back my book!”

Matt got bored and carelessly chucked the book across the room. It hit Tom’s bass and fell open in a heap next to the instrument.

“Matt you asshole!” Tom yelled.

“What’s going on over there!?” Edd’s voice echoed through the hall.

“Nothing!” Tom yelled, “Matt was just LEAVING!” He shoved Matt out of the door, straining as he spoke.

Matt stood stiff as a board letting Tom do all the work to move him. “What did I do?” he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Tom didn’t grace him with a response. He just finished removing him and slammed the door. Well, as much as he could since the weird airflow in the room sort of slowed down the movement.

This wasn’t an isolated instance with Matt and Tom. Matt was often inconsiderate of other people’s feelings. Nobody knew if he was ever aware of it or not. Maybe he was just stupid. Matt had actually been pestering Tom a lot lately. His insults had become more frequent and personal. Not that Tom ever cared what anyone had to say, but it was getting bad enough to be notable.

Low bass strings being tuned could be heard muffled behind the now-closed door. Tom had gone right back to what he was doing as if Matt were just a minor inconvenience. He was, usually, just that. Although it was going to be annoying cleaning up after him like a giant toddler with a sport coat and great hair. Matt listened to the notes ring out and slide up and down as Tom looked for the perfect pitch, though he eventually got bored thanks to his short attention span. He slowly wandered around and ended up in his original destination for a nap.


	2. Chapter 2

Many days went by much like the last one. A few things happened here and there to keep it interesting, though. Tom went out for groceries, Matt found a few estate sales, and Ringo had a check-up to go to. Seemingly, a bit mundane but a few things seemed off. For one, Tom seemed increasingly more on edge these days and the others couldn't figure out why. Well, Edd couldn’t figure it out and Matt either didn’t care or didn’t notice. Most likely it was the latter. Besides that, it seemed like the house was less messy but that could be because Edd had barely gotten off of the sofa for the past week save for the vet visit. He hadn’t done any chores but he’d hardly made a mess either.

Matt was woken up from one of his many “beauty naps” by some odd noises coming from elsewhere in the house. He was annoyed at first, thinking it may be the refrigerator or something. He put the pillow over his face and tried to go back to sleep. It seemed like the sounds were getting louder now, but it was only because Matt had noticed them. It was all he could focus on now. It was only natural for the next step to be going downstairs to investigate. Matt immediately rushed to the kitchen, convinced it was coming from the fridge despite there being no evidence to support his theory. He was a bit confused when the kitchen came up virtually silent.

“Well, there goes all my ideas,” he said aloud while heading back down the hallway. “That’s okay, Matt, you tried your best!” he told himself, “Aww, thank you, Matt, I am the best, aren’t I?”

The noise seemed to be aggravated by the words being spoken. It sounded now like an enraged growl rather than what Matt initially suspected to be the kitchen appliance.

Matt’s expression immediately changed. “H-hello?” His voice managed to shake out a call. “Ar-are you a… a bear?” He couldn’t think of anything else that growled off the top of his head.

There was no response. Whatever it was didn’t seem to think Matt deserved an answer.

Matt whimpered and held his hands up to his chest like a meerkat peeking out of its den. He snuck through the hallway where the sounds were getting louder. He didn’t know what to expect at all. It seemed like the sounds were coming from Tom’s room.

_ “Oh no! Tom’s been turned into a refrigerator!” _ Matt thought. He opened the door and expected to see a strange blue refrigerator staring him down. Unfortunately, this was not the case. What he found was a sight even more unbelievable than Tom as a refrigerator, if that’s possible. 

Tom was seated facing the corner with his knees tucked up to his chest. He wasn't moving aside from a slight tremor that traveled through his entire body. He was squishing his favorite bear between his legs and torso, obstructing it from view. Matt wandered over to the compacted figure with no real purpose other than feeding his own curiosity. Upon seeing his friend in a still human state, his anxiety was immediately relieved.

“Hi, buddy!” Matt beamed. “What happened to the refrigerator?” he asked, still not able to put together the pieces.

Tom didn’t answer. Although he was mostly obscured, it was obvious that he was struggling to stay calm.

“Tom?” Matt said in a quieter voice, “What are you doing down there?”

“SHUT UP!” Tom screeched. He had snapped.

Matt jumped back and screamed in terror.

“Do you want to know how it feels?” Tom sobbed. “My whole life I've had to live like this and you just exploit it for… for what!? Some kind of sick, twisted entertainment!?”

Matt stopped for a second just looking at Tom in confusion. “I… what are you talking abou--?”

“NO!” Tom interrupted him, “Y-You don’t do that! You don’t _ get _ to do that!” He buried his face deeper into his knees. “You’re so fucking stupid when it’s convenient, aren’t you?” he grumbled in a voice muffled by his jeans.

Matt was still very confused. He was still stuck on the kitchen appliance although he was starting to suspect it had nothing to do with any of this. “I think... I’m kind of stupid all the ti--”

“You are so self-absorbed, you asshole!” Tom shouted. He looked down at Matt's socks and wiped his cheek on his worn, blue sleeve. His face was red from anger, frustration, and defeat. His hollow eyes looked like two leaking faucets. It was a bit of an unnerving sight.

“O-oh, wow, that looks, uh…” Matt trailed off. He had never seen Tom cry before. Truth be told, he was a little grossed out.

Tom sniffled and looked up at Matt. “Huh?” he asked in a wavering voice, not having heard what had been said.

“Oh, I… Your, uh…” Matt suddenly had a revelation right then and there. _ “Oh God…” _ he thought, _ “Tom has feelings?” _ He was genuinely amazed. “Uh… I have to go!” His response seemed sporadic but his mind was running at breakneck speeds. Everything he thought he had previously known was becoming twisted and upside down. It was starting to send him into a panic.

Tom could hear the footsteps pounding as Matt disappeared into his room. Tom sniffled to himself a little while longer before standing to his feet. He felt emptier than usual. He was really struggling with his relationship with Matt and it was getting harder to deal with it. He pulled out one of the books that Matt had wrecked days ago. He flipped through the pages and found a page with worn photos of himself as a child. He was standing beside Matt and the two of them were playing outdoors. The two of them used to play together all the time as children. They looked happy.

“Oh, god, Tom… what are you doing?” he asked himself quietly. He sighed and gently ran his fingers across the glossy photos. He sat on the edge of the bed with the photo book in his lap. He wiped his hoodie sleeve across his cheek to dry what was left of his tears. He smiled slightly and sniffled as he looked at the pages filled with pictures of their childhood shenanigans. He knew he couldn’t stay mad at Matt forever, although he was making it pretty damn easy. Tom closed his book, put it back in a safe place, and wandered out into the living room. He sat on the couch picking at the red fibers while telling himself he should go for a walk. Some fresh air is a perfect way to clear one’s head, after all. He thought about the possibility and tried to psych himself up to go out, yet he still sat there. He wanted to but it felt like to door was getting further away and his legs heavier. He sat in an excruciating war between what he knew was best, and his newly developed limitations. He accomplished nothing but widening a hole in the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was supposed to be short but it's kind of evolved into a bit of a longer thing. It'll be cool you'll like it (I hope).


	3. Chapter 3

“Hi, guys!” Edd burst through the door consequently waking Tom who had apparently fallen asleep on the couch. He had never actually gone for a walk. “I’ve returned from my conveniently placed errands!” Edd said. He dropped four grocery bags onto the floor, each containing nothing more than cola cans and bottles. “We could always use more cola,” he stated. No one was really listening as Tom was just now coming to and Matt was nowhere to be found. Ringo meowed at him passively and even that was just a weak, obligatory noise. In all honesty, the others hadn’t even noticed he had left to begin with.

Tom rubbed his eyes and squinted at Edd. He hadn’t had a very restful sleep and his neck felt sore from slouching. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he groaned. He winced and rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to soothe the pain.

Edd shrugged. “Sorry, mate, were you asleep?” he asked, “Where’s Matt?”

“See if I give a shit,” Tom gave a quick retort.

“Jeez, what happened?” Edd asked awkwardly. “I mean besides like… normal stuff.”

Tom inhaled and let it out slowly. He tried not to make too much noise with his breathing. He glanced toward the kitchen but forced his gaze down to the living room floor. “Sorry, I, uh…” he stammered, “I-I don’t know where he is.”

Edd looked at Tom suspiciously but quickly brushed it off. He picked his groceries back up and began stacking them all in the refrigerator, leaving Tom alone with his thoughts.

Ringo hopped on the other cushion and started sharpening her claws on the corner. Tom picked her up and held her in his lap. She was surprisingly agreeable. He stroked her fur just to feel something in hopes of distracting himself from his head. His mind felt crowded with thoughts. It made him feel restricted even though there was a wide-open room surrounding him. His headspace became a loud, jumbled mess of abrasive voices and pictures until it was finally empty. Nothing but a great white expanse accompanied by a quiet hum. He had been thinking so much that his mind hit a breaking point and shut down. It was a temporary override of numbness to escape a mental prison.

The only noise in the house was the clinking of bottles from the kitchen where Edd was busy sorting things. No one really knew what his methods were. The ambient clinking was interrupted by heavy, rapid footsteps on the staircase. “AHA, I KNEW IT!” Matt yelled as he ran into the kitchen. He slid in on his socks and tackled Edd from behind. “I GOT YOU!”

Edd screeched and dropped two bottles of cola. They shattered on the floor and the fizz escaping hissed amongst the dangerous shards. “MATT!” Edd scolded from within a chokehold.

“Edd?” Matt asked while looking at his captive. He slowly let him go and looked down at the big mess on the floor. “Oops. I thought you were a monster.”

“Are you insane?” Edd asked very seriously. He carefully stepped out of the puddles and advised Matt to do the same.

Matt didn’t answer. It was unclear if that was intentional or if he simply didn’t hear the question.

The two of them gathered supplies and began cleaning up the mess.

“Hey…” Matt began to speak sort of quietly, “I think Tom has been acting weird… am I wrong?”

Edd stopped and stared into the dark puddle emotionlessly. His brain played back the countless hours of television he had zoned out on over the past week. He looked at Matt with a bit of a loss for words. “Um… I don’t think I’m the right person to ask.”

It’s probably nothing…” Matt stated. “It’s just been an odd few days.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“You didn’t?”

“No, I-- OW!” Edd seethed and held his hand. Two of his fingers started to bleed profusely. He stood to his feet and rushed to the bathroom, leaving Matt to his own devices.

He crashed through the bathroom door and turned the faucet on while he looked for the first aid kit. He wasn’t known for being the most agile man in the group and had a tendency to throw his weight around. He ran his cuts under the water and screamed. The water was blazing hot and burned his skin. He wasn’t known for the best ideas under pressure either. After about four minutes of thrashing about and dropping everything, Edd emerged from the bathroom with a badly bandaged hand. He returned to the kitchen to see where Matt was with the cleanup and directed him further.

Tom continued to sit on the couch and listen to the commotion. He could only hear enough to know who was talking but not enough to make out the specific words. Ringo seemed to know he was struggling and stayed in his lap to comfort him. “Yeah… you understand me,” Tom whispered while stroking her soft fur. “I should just steal you and we could live far away from here… Far from… whatever it is I hate…” He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was he was trying to run from. He tried to blame it on other people but it seemed to stick with him no matter who he accused. He sat and pet Ringo for a few minutes while thinking and listening to Matt struggle with Edd in the kitchen. “This…” Tom stated in a normal volume, “This fucking sucks.”

Ringo meowed softly and looked up at him.

Tom looked down and stared into her eyes. “What?” he asked as if she was speaking English. “What are you looking at you… you cat?”

Ringo meowed in response.

“Typical,” Tom scoffed. He rolled his eyes and began to pet her again. He rested his cheek in his palm and his elbow on the arm of the sofa. He stared at the dark television screen and sighed. “You know, cat, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” he stated, “I mean, I knew it would be hard but this… this is awful.” His gaze redirected toward Ringo. “And for what? Who cares if I’m sober or drunk? I’m beginning to think they liked the drunk me better.”


	4. Chapter 4

The afternoon faded into the evening without much more commotion. The boys had recently implemented a chore chart of sorts that included making dinner. The turn that night had fallen on a very forgetful Edd. He hurriedly threw some random things together after the others had rejected his initial idea of going out to eat. Tom and Matt had wished they agreed to a restaurant as soon as they sat down.

“This is honestly unrecognizable,” Tom stated after staring at his plate.

Matt looked at everyone's plates. “Should have been in a bowl I think.”

“No one cares what you think,” Tom snapped.

Edd turned to Tom, “Tom!” he scolded, “Please be nice.” He looked at the two of them sternly. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on between you two but please do me a favor and keep it on the down-low? I have to live here, too!” Edd angrily shoved food into his mouth and death-stared into the distance.

Tom and Matt looked at each other while a thick blanket of awkwardness filled the room. Tom looked a bit guilty while Matt only displayed his usual confusion.

Tom abruptly pushed out his chair, making a loud noise.

“Where are you going?” Edd requested the information. 

“Nowhere,” Tom replied monotone, “I want cereal.”

Matt looked innocently at Tom. “But, it’s night,” he commented.

“Shut UP, MATT!” Tom was trying his best to maintain his composure but his patience was wearing thin.

“Stop yelling at him!” Edd shouted.

“Yeah! Stop yelling at me!” Matt agreed still somewhat in confusion.

“I’ll do what I want!” Tom stated before leaving the room. He had had it with his roommates. He stormed off to his room taking a box of cereal with him.

Edd and Matt exchanged glances with one another as they listened to Tom’s heavy footsteps. He tried to slam his door once again which made Edd cringe. He didn’t know how to comment on the situation.

Matt took another bite off his plate. “What’s with him?” he asked passively.

Edd just stared at Matt for a bit before speaking up. “You know,” he began, “I’d think of all people, you might know.” He was genuinely curious about their apparent feud.

Matt only shrugged. “No clue,” he admitted. “He just started yelling at me more.”

Edd sighed and quickly shoved the rest of his dinner down his throat. “Well,” he pushed out his chair, “we better go check on him.”

Matt picked at his food a little more before getting up to join his friend.

They both walked across the house and stood outside Tom’s closed door.

“Do you think he wants to see me?” Matt whispered.

Edd shrugged. “Probably not… better sit this one out, mate.” He signaled to Matt to go elsewhere while he knocked on Tom’s door. He had no idea what to expect. He hadn’t really been paying much attention to either of his roommates the past week and he felt guilty about it. He slowly cracked open Tom’s door and greeted him with a mellow voice. “Hey, buddy… May I come in?” he asked.

Tom was laying on his bed with cereal poured out onto his chest. “Sure. Whatever,” was his curt response.

Edd moved gently into the room, closing the door behind himself. He looked around at what a mess Tom’s room had become. It was a bit hard to see since the only light in the room came from a weak lamp that sat atop Tom’s nightstand. Edd seated himself at the end of Tom’s bed making sure not to disturb him. It wasn’t too difficult since Tom didn’t take up much of the bed anyway. He sat and listened to Tom angrily crunch on the dry cereal for a while. He wanted to see if Tom would start any kind of dialogue before upsetting him. After he’d waited for what he thought was long enough, Edd finally spoke up. “Listen, Tom…” he started, making sure to keep the same tone he’d used upon entering, “I don’t know what’s been up with you lately, but… you know, you can talk to me.” He looked at his friend and tried his best to look reassuring. “I know Matt can be a bit of a handful sometimes, but he really does mean well.”

Tom continued to crunch angrily before giving a response. “I know…” he sighed. “It’s not… it’s not him, Edd,” he admitted, “He’s just… adding to my misery, I guess.” He looked depressed. He gazed down upon his messy bed and brushed the remains of the cereal off of his chest. He reached into his hoodie pocket and made sure to clear out what had gotten in.

“Well…” Edd tried to choose his words very carefully, “What do you mean by misery?” he asked.

“It’s just… It’s really stupid, okay?” Tom looked embarrassed and anxious.

Edd picked up on these cues and softened his voice even more. “I’m sure it’s not stupid,” he assured. “It seems to be having a big effect on you.”

Tom took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s ironic, really…” he forced a small laugh, “I’m doing this for you guys but it’s only messing everything up.”

Edd had no idea what the other was talking about but he tried to remain an intent listener. “I guess so?” he said, “I’m not really sure what you’re talking about but I’m sure it’s tough.”

“Oh, spare me that therapist crap, Edd,” Tom scoffed.

“Look, I’m just trying to help you.”

Tom’s face softened as he looked at the sincerity in Edd’s eyes. “I just… I haven’t…” Tom sighed and leaned his head back.

“Take your time,” Edd told him. He had no idea what was going to come out of his friend’s mouth. The endless possibilities were starting to stir up anxiety inside of him.

“Yeah, no--” Tom’s voice wavered, “I just… I haven’t had anything to drink in a while… I’m trying to quit, Edd.”

Edd made a slight face. He wasn’t sure what to make of the statement. “Wh… why?” was the only thing he could think to ask.

“Well, I mean… I’m not a very nice person when I’m shit-faced,” Tom admitted.

Edd grimaced a bit. “I… kind of have to agree with that.”

“Thanks.” Tom rolled his eyes.

“So…” Edd drummed his fingers on the bed. “You gave up drinking because you want to be nicer to us?” he asked, hoping to get all the facts straight, “And it’s making you irritated because you want to drink, then, right? Well, that and Matt’s being, well… Matt.” It seemed like enough of an explanation to him. He never really claimed to understand Tom’s mind anyway.

Tom nodded. “That’s basically it.” He looked at Edd for a second before diverting his eyes down to the bed. “Oh, well, that and I’m killing my liver,” he nonchalantly tacked on.

“Wait-- what!?” Edd’s eyes widened. “What the fuck!?”

“Yeeeahh…” Tom admitted. “Doc says it’s bad,” he shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell us!?” Edd stood to his feet and loomed over the other boy. 

“I didn’t want you to worry!” Tom tried to defend his action though he knew they were wrong. He should have told them right when he found out. They were his best friends after all and they would have tried to help him. “You always get so cross with me!”

“Don’t blame this on me!” Edd scoffed, “This is a perfectly just reaction to you hiding some sort of big sickness from us!” He looked absolutely distraught. His voice lowered to a quiet sincerity. “Tom… how bad is it?”

Tom shrugged again. “I dunno… they said there was some kind of scarring building up or something like that…” He was having trouble informing his friend as he didn’t quite understand it himself. “Look, all I know is they told me not to have any drinks until we sort this out!”

Edd sat down on the bed again, this time next to Tom. “Holy shit…” he breathed. “Are… you going to be okay?”

Tom looked quite disheartened. “I really don’t know,” he admitted, “They said it’s early on enough to treat but just barely… I have to go back and see them again in a few days.” He sniffled a bit and wiped his nose on his sleeve. It was clear that this was scary for him and rightly so. Here he was, a young man faced with a serious medical issue that came from his poor life choices. He didn’t want to admit that it was his fault for drinking so much. He did it to himself and it made him feel guilty.

The two boys sat in the room for a while just existing in each other’s space. Tom felt comforted merely by Edd’s presence. He eventually leaned his head on Edd’s shoulder after pulling his knees into his hoodie. It hurt him to talk about the issue since verbalizing it made it suddenly become so real. He had been in denial about it mostly up to this point, which was why he convinced himself of an alternative motive for quitting drinking. Edd seemed to understand this enough. He knew Tom acted foolishly sometimes and he just had to accept that. The most important thing to him was being there for his friend when he clearly needed support.

“Hey, Edd?” Tom said after a great while.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t tell Matt yet,” Tom requested. “I want to tell him myself. I just don’t have all the answers to all the stupid questions I know he’s going to ask.”

Edd chuckled softly. “Yeah… that’s fair.”

“Thanks,” Tom said, shifting his position a little closer to the bigger boy. “Not just for that, but for all of this. I know I’m a bit of an ass.”

“You are,” Edd couldn’t lie. “But, promise me you’ll tell him soon.”

“I will.”


End file.
